Grant: Engage Plus Grants Program

The introduction of advanced services in data centers, such as cloud computing and virtualisation, is increasingthe transmission speed requirement between users and computing facilities. One emerging scheme to satisfythis demand is to leverage the wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technologies developed for coretransport networks. AEPONYX Inc., a start-up company from Repentigny, Québec, is offering WDM passiveoptical network (PON) solutions to data centers and telecommunication service providers that enable thecreation of high capacity and flexible networks at an affordable cost. One of the key elements of AEPONYXtechnology is that the channel assignment in the network is done by adding a small plug containing a filter atthe output of the transmitter. This simple yet effective solution allows AEPONYX to produce affordable andefficient systems. However, it poses limitations on the maximum transmission rate that can be achieved, and itrequires on-site interventions each time the network has to be reconfigured. To solve these issues, AEPONYXis investigating how silicon photonics can be used to create an ultra-compact channel selection mechanism thatcan be integrated inside its transmitters and operated remotely. AEPONYX has established a collaborationwith Prof. Michaël Ménard laboratory at UQAM to work on the development of this system. By workingtogether, AEPONYX and Prof. Ménard aim at creating the next generation of WDM-PON equipment. Theobjective of this project is to refine the design developed over the course of a first Engage project. In additionto strengthen AEPONYX leadership position in the WDM-PON market, the innovative technologies resultingfrom this work will enable the implementation of novel network architectures and services bytelecommunication operators.